The present invention relates to wide-screen television systems, and more particularly, to such systems that are compatible with conventional television receivers.
A conventional television receiver has a 4:3 aspect ratio (the ratio of width to height). Recently, there has been interest in using higher aspect ratios for television systems, such as 2:1 or 5:3, which ratios more nearly approximate or equal the aspect ratio of the human eye than does the conventional 4:3 ratio. The 5:3 aspect ratio has received particular attention since motion picture film uses this ratio, and thus can be transmitted and received without cropping. However wide-screen television systems which simply transmit signals having an increased aspect ratio as compared with conventional systems are incompatible with conventional aspect ratio receivers. This makes widespread adoption of wide-screen systems difficult.
It is therefore desirable to have a wide-screen television system that is compatible with conventional television receivers.